Choosing TV and Hitch, Anderson Ultimate, B&W

Starting off knowing the "carriage" first, a good way to go. For the "horse" ...

Forget dry weights, go to the GVWR of the trailer, the max it is designed to carry/contain. For pin weights of the 5th wheel, use 20% of the GVWR. For bed height, knowing the trailer DW wants, find one on the dealer lot on level ground, measure distance from trailer to ground that will be over the bed rails of the truck. Subtract 6", that will give you a starting point as to bed rail height on the prospective trucks.

As to cargo capacity of prospective TVs, start with cargo capacity, but be realistic about weight of occupants, full tank of fuel, hitch, firewood (?), dogs, etc. As an example, just back from the CAT Scales yesterday with my new (to me) 2013 Silverado 3500HD. Brochure states 4,459 lb payload capacity. With hitch mounted, DW and I, dog (Great Pyrenees - 120 lbs), small compressor in the bed, 2.5 gal of DEF, etc ... subtracting weight of drive axle from the rear GAWR ... a pin weight of 3,590 lbs will max us out. Thankfully with the little trailer we have, we can buy lots more trailer in the future!

Hope this helps.

Hi,

One of the huge stability advantages of a fifth wheel is that the hitch is normally placed 1" in front of the rear axle. Then if the pickup hits a pot hole or speed bump (for example) and the hitch is lifted suddenly, it is forward of the rear axle, and will push down on the rear and front axles at the same time.

However if the hitch pin center is 'behind' the rear axle, and you hit a bump, then you have some weight on the rear axle, and some weight taken off the front axle, because the center of gravity is behind the rear axle.

While it is in-signiciant on a diesel truck, it will change the handling when the pivot point is behind the rear axle. Say the wheelbase is 138" long, and you have the hitch 1" in front of the rear axle. For each 138 pounds of hitch weight, 1 pound will go on the front axle, and 137 on the rear one. So 1,380 pounds would put about 10 pounds on the front axle. Removing 10 or 20 pounds due to the hitch pivot being 1" or 2" behind the rear axle probably also will not matter much. But it can change the handling.

As for the 'fancy' to" tires, forget about getting them. It would be a deal breaker for me too! The 20" tires have much less rubber between the rim and the road, so much less road vibrations and road shock is absorbed by the 'balloon tires'. Imangine a 1" deep pot hole. With a tire that has 24" rims and 1" between the rim and road surface, that pot hole will abuse that rim, and perhaps even dent it! But with 'balloon tires' that have 4" to 5" between the rim and the roadway, that will absorb that pot hole in stride, and keep going!

Good luck on your new purchase! Don't take any wooden nickles or 22" rims!

Fred.

Golden_HVAC wrote:
Hi,

One of the huge stability advantages of a fifth wheel is that the hitch is normally placed 1" in front of the rear axle. Then if the pickup hits a pot hole or speed bump (for example) and the hitch is lifted suddenly, it is forward of the rear axle, and will push down on the rear and front axles at the same time.

However if the hitch pin center is 'behind' the rear axle, and you hit a bump, then you have some weight on the rear axle, and some weight taken off the front axle, because the center of gravity is behind the rear axle.

While it is in-signiciant on a diesel truck, it will change the handling when the pivot point is behind the rear axle. Say the wheelbase is 138" long, and you have the hitch 1" in front of the rear axle. For each 138 pounds of hitch weight, 1 pound will go on the front axle, and 137 on the rear one. So 1,380 pounds would put about 10 pounds on the front axle. Removing 10 or 20 pounds due to the hitch pivot being 1" or 2" behind the rear axle probably also will not matter much. But it can change the handling.

As for the 'fancy' to" tires, forget about getting them. It would be a deal breaker for me too! The 20" tires have much less rubber between the rim and the road, so much less road vibrations and road shock is absorbed by the 'balloon tires'. Imangine a 1" deep pot hole. With a tire that has 24" rims and 1" between the rim and road surface, that pot hole will abuse that rim, and perhaps even dent it! But with 'balloon tires' that have 4" to 5" between the rim and the roadway, that will absorb that pot hole in stride, and keep going!

Good luck on your new purchase! Don't take any wooden nickles or 22" rims!

Fred.

The placement of the pin a couple inches either way is not going to make a rats a&& difference! 1" on a 150-180" wheel base is meaningless! Little or no weight is on the front axle. Chris

The B&W Companion is a highly regarded hitch on these forums as is the Andersen. I don't see that you would go wrong with either one. I went with the Andersen Rail Mount (I had rails from the previous hitch) for the following reasons:

No moving parts
No lubrication needed
No maintenance needed
No bumping into your grease covered kingpin :)
Easy to raise and lower the ball for height corrections
Kingpin coupler can be rotated to move the trailer forward or backward
Hitch can be rotated if the ball needs to be moved front to back
If you fail to secure the coupler to the ball, the trailer will not pull loose and drop on your bed rails when you pull out

And last but not least, the rail mount version I have weighs 41 pounds. I can carry it with one hand.

Most hitches that I'm familiar with are adjustable. The height difference between the 18" wheel/tire combo and the 20" ones on the rams is 0.3". The 20s have less sidewall.

Dear,
Ib516--you are the one who stirred my interest in the RAMs. Thanks again. Seems like 0.3" is a moot point. Does your Cougar have 15 or 16 inch tires? How about your truck tires?

ralphjoann--lets assume i buy a truck that does not match well with the FW. Is there enough play in the Anderson Ultimate to make any 3/4 ton truck work? Correct me if I am wrong but, my understanding is that the Anderson moves the pivot point back a few inches at the coupler but the weight is still transferred correctly at the truck..?

I have been looking at low mileage used TVs. There is a used Ford Platinum with 20" tires that I would like to consider. It sounds like first I need to do some measuring. Is it possible to buy a stock PU with 18 or 20" tires that won't "fit" the trailer?

turtypointbuck wrote:
Dear,
Ib516--you are the one who stirred my interest in the RAMs. Thanks again. Seems like 0.3" is a moot point. Does your Cougar have 15 or 16 inch tires? How about your truck tires?

ralphjoann--lets assume i buy a truck that does not match well with the FW. Is there enough play in the Anderson Ultimate to make any 3/4 ton truck work? Correct me if I am wrong but, my understanding is that the Anderson moves the pivot point back a few inches at the coupler but the weight is still transferred correctly at the truck..?

I have been looking at low mileage used TVs. There is a used Ford Platinum with 20" tires that I would like to consider. It sounds like first I need to do some measuring. Is it possible to buy a stock PU with 18 or 20" tires that won't "fit" the trailer?

These questions are "above my pay grade." For example, "Is there enough play...to make any 3/4 ton truck work"? I don't have a clue. I suggest you contact Andersen for knowledgeable answers.

turtypointbuck wrote:
Dear,
Ib516--you are the one who stirred my interest in the RAMs. Thanks again. Seems like 0.3" is a moot point. Does your Cougar have 15 or 16 inch tires? How about your truck tires?

ralphjoann--lets assume i buy a truck that does not match well with the FW. Is there enough play in the Anderson Ultimate to make any 3/4 ton truck work? Correct me if I am wrong but, my understanding is that the Anderson moves the pivot point back a few inches at the coupler but the weight is still transferred correctly at the truck..?

I have been looking at low mileage used TVs. There is a used Ford Platinum with 20" tires that I would like to consider. It sounds like first I need to do some measuring. Is it possible to buy a stock PU with 18 or 20" tires that won't "fit" the trailer?

Leveling issues are a big problem these days with the higher sitting trucks. It's an issue brought up here on the forum quite often. I have a 2014 Ram 3500, and it sits even higher then my friends 2015 Ford Platinum 350. Going out on a limb here, but I believe the 3500 Ram sits higher in the rear then the other two. I have done all I can to level mine with this new truck, other then raising the fifth wheel , its passable, but a couple more inches would not hurt. Had no issues with my older Ford Superduty 350 .The leveling of course also has to do with the fifth wheel. A tape measure will tell you a lot of things.

With the weight you are talking I wouldn't think its going to push that truck down more then a couple inches, that would be a good place to start with.

That's what I am worried about. It seems like I won't know for sure until the truck is bought and the hitch is installed.
Anxiety provoking process.

Sent you a PM.